Undergarment



Sept. 29, 1953 D. BLAIR UNDERGARMENT Filed April 12, 1952 Patented Sept. 29, 1953 ulszffrrrsoiA STATES ,l-TENT OFFICE 4 Claims. 1.

This invention-l'relates: to Yimprovements in undergarmentstmore particularly to girdles.`

One of vthe objects of this invention ist@ lprovide- `anv improved girdle which is .high waisted totf' iiatand .smootharound the lwaist. front as well asi-theV diaphragmsection-of they body of the wearer-to hatten` the abdominal portion of' the-body'and'- evenly distribute the flesh tissue.

Another'object ofthis invention is to provide a high waistedrgirdlelhaving means in the front of" the garment Whichwill anchor same above the waistline-for the 4purpose of either smoothing out or disguising the-normal'rollof adipose tissuesaround the diaphragm of the wearer.

Another object of this invention is to provide a girdle with an inverted Ushaped resilientstay in the frontofftlre girdle'eXtendingJ-above and below the waistline for effectively preventing the girdlefrom rolling over and, restoring the girdle to its original position.

Another obiectroirthisrinvention is to provide an undergarment which, extends to a position directly'under the bustoi -the wearer, which undergarmentihas a substantially inverted U shaped resilientstay extending across the front portion of the undergarment to provide body support and to avoid poking the wearer.

The main objection to present day girdles is that they roll over and break their contour directly at the waistline. Various attempts have been made to overcome this objectionable feature, however, none have been satisfactory. The present invention eliminates the objectionable features of the prior art undergarments and eliminates the roll over and prevents breaking of the contour at the waistline.

Other objects will become apparent as this description progresses.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my improved girdle showing same in position on the outline of a figure.

Fig. 2 is a front view of the upper portion of said girdle with a portion broken away and showing the position of the inverted U shaped stay in said girdle.

Fig. 3 is a view looking at the rear of the girdle with a portion broken away to show the stay, and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the flattened spiral spring inverted U shaped resilient stay.

The girdle comprises a front section l0, a back section l2, two side sections I4 and l5 and an above waistline portion I8, The front section l0 is formed preferably of a fabric panel which eX- 2 tends the full lengt-n of the girdle. The-upper portion of the front section adjoins the wearers body to a position directly under the bust; The back section 4#iis formed of a fabric panel which is firm and: extendsl from the bottom ofi-the girdleto the' waistiine, the back sectionbein'g elasticand longitudinally' extensible. The front and back' panels are joined xto the side sections it andl 51 which are preferably ofelastic open material, the elastic being: preferably eX- tensible transversely and longitudinally. Securementiei the front panel l5 to the side panels and it? is effected' alongl stitching lines Eiland 22 with. thel back. panel being stitched! to the otheivends fof `the side panels along the-stitching lines Effi and 26. An elastic panel-28@ transversely extensible is secured along longitudinall stitchingiinesV 2t and-2251 rearwardly of the front section.` iii? S.Pane'litflextendsifrom above the bottom line of the girdle to; that indicated by the stitchline (it and issecured. to front section l0 along said stitching line 30."r` Said panel' is cut narrower than' the-width offrontsection t0? so thatwhen'wor-n it Willgive sufliciently to iiatten the abdomem and f maintain -it in a viiattened condition. Secured to the upper edge of the side panels ll and it, as by stitching 32, is an elastic band 36 which stretches transversely. The band 34 is also stitched and secured to the opposite sides of the front panel i along stitching lines 36 and 38 and to the upper edges of the side panels It and` i5 and the upper edges of back panel I2. Band 34 encompasses the sides and back of the body of the wearer to the height of the front panel I0.

Secured rearwardly or to the inside of the front panel Il), is a substantially inverted U- shaped spring stay 32 shown in Fig. 4 which is formed of a flattened spiral spring steel member. The spring member is covered by a cloth strip or tape le and is secured to the rear of the front panel is and stitched along `Ispaced parallel stitching lines fit. It will be seen that when the inverted U shaped stay @2 is secured in place in the garment, as shown in Figs. l, 2 and 3, the opposite legs thereof terminate below the waistline of the garment as indicated at 48 and the arched or curved portion of same extends upwardly to and across the top of the girdle to a position directly under the bust portion of the body, thereby flattening the diaphragm and the front portion of the body above the waistline and under the bust. The spring member 42 will provide support for that portion of the body and will prevent the girdle from rolling over and will always keep it snug against the upper body portion of the wearer. The spring member will always restore the garment to its original position as shown in Fig. 1 even after same has been distorted, such as in bending, sitting or the like. It will be further seen that the arched or curved portion of the spring member is adjacent the body near the bust so that While it supports, it does not poke into the body, and that the lower extremities or legs of the spring member terminate slightly below the waistline to add additional support.

The undergarment is also provided with a zipper 50 extending along the elastic waistband 34 and the side i6 and with a plurality oi spaced vertical stays 52 which extend downwardly from the waistline into the side elastic panels I4 and l5. A triangular shaped elastic insert 55 may be secured in the :front panel ill adjacent the bottom thereof and the usual hose supporting members 58 are secured to the lower end of the undergarment.

For purposes of denition, the girdle may be divided into three divisions. The waistline portion is identied as the circumferential portion of the girdle encompassed by the stitching lines 32 continued around the front oi the girdle. rlhe circumferential portion of the girdle below the waistline portion identied as the hip or body portion and the porti-on above the waistline` is termed the above waistline portion.

It will be understood that while I have described a specific construction, various modications and changes may be made from the foregoing without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

1. In an undergarment comprising a body portion having a front panel, said panel having a waistline portion and an above waistline portion, a single substantially inverted U shaped spring member secured said front panel at said above waistline portion and so constructed and arranged that the curved end of said spring member is adjacent the top of said above waistline 4 portion, and the legs of the spring member terminating adjacent the waist line portion.

2. In an undergarment comprising a body portion having a front panel, said panel having a waistline portion and, an above waistline portion, and an inverted U shaped spring member secured to said above waistline portion, with the closed end thereof adjacent the top of said above the waistline portion and with the opposite legs thereof terminating slightly below the waistline portion and laterally of the closed end of the spring.

3. In an undergarment comprising front and back panels and intermediate elastic panels, an elastic band secured to the sides of said front panel and to the top of said back and intermediate panels, said front panel having an above waist portion and a waistline portion, an inverted U shaped spring member secured to said front panel in said above Waist portion with the closed end of said spring member adjacent the top of the front panel and the opposite legs thereof terminating slightly below the waistline portion and in juxtaposition to said intermediate elastic panels.

Ai. In a girdle comprising a body portion having a front panel, said panel having, a waistline portion and an above waistline portion, a single compressed spiral spring substantially of inverted U shape secured to said above waistline portion with the closed end spanning the front of said above waistline portion and the legs thereof terminating slightly below the waistline portion and laterally of said closed end.

DAVID BLAIR.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,293,427 I-Ieilner Feb. 4, i919 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 487,646 Great Britain June 23, 1938 982,370 France Jan. 24, 1951 

